Pi: Tiny2040 & Pico W (175.html)

Keywords

ICH180R2 "Tiny2040" MicroPython PiMoroni ICH180 Raspberry Pi "Raspberry Pi" "Pico W" wireless 2GHz "2 GHz" "future BlueTooth" CYW43439 Infineon lwIP libcyw43 "Damien George" "George Robotics" scruss GPIO25 "led blink" qwiic Sparkfun i2c IIC minicom



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Tiny 2040 Bottom (Back) View


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Tiny 2040 Top View


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A Pico (bottom center) with a Raspberry Pi Model 4B above it (Source 07)


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Tiny2040 with legs


Introduction

On 2021KNov05, Waveshare Electronics (Source 06) released a tiny version of the Raspberry Pico microcomputer called the RP2040-Zero. A slightly different product called the Tiny2040 is currently being sold by PiMoroni. This article describes the Tiny2040 by PiMoroni. The Tiny2040 retains most of the features of the Raspberry Pico and adds the following:
an additional A to D converter
a USB-Type C connector (replacing the USB connector)
4 times the Flash memory (8MB compared to the Pico)
a Reset Button
a RGB led
a User button (secondary usage of the Boot button)
Size is approximately 2cm x 2 cm (1 inch x 1 inch)
optional header pins already soldered
It is software compatible with the Raspberry Pico. It provides communication interfaces for I2C, SPI and UART in addition to the serial port ( that it and the pico use to communicate with the computer that can be used to program or communicate with it.) The Tiny2040 has less physical pins than the Pico, but these pins seem to be fully compatible with existing Pico pins. The additional ADC converter requires the definition of an additional pin. The ADC pins on the Pico and on the Tiny2040 are similar as shown in the list below:

Use          Pico pin                    Tiny2040 pin
Function  Name     Physical       Function  Name  Physical
ADC0      GPIO26   31             A0        D26   12
ADC1      GPIO27   32             A1        D27   13
ADC2      GPIO28   34             A2        D28   14
ADC3      na       na             A3        D29   15
Note that the "D" names on the Tiny2040 resemble the "GPIO" names on the Pico. The remaining pin names (GPIO and physical) are equivalent to those of the Raspberry Pico. This follows the efforts of Pimoroni to keep the Tiny2040 software compatible with the Raspberry Pico as much as possible.

Three different descriptions (by different authors) of the Tiny2040 can be seen in Sources 03, 04 and 05 below. Source 01 contains a schematic of the Tiny2040 and Source 02 shows the pin-outs (pin names) of the Tiny2040. A more descriptive diagram of the pin-outs can be seen in the PiMoroni description in Source 03. A more specific correlation between the signals of the RP2040 and the signals of the Tiny2040 can be seen by examining the schematic diagram in Source 01.

Someone at LearnEmbeddedSystems.co.uk has produced the short youtube video at Video Source V175:01 (below)

Software Notes

Pimoroni states that (like the Pico) the Tiny2040 can be programmed using C, CircuitPython and MicroPython. I have programmed the Pico using Thonny, therefore Thonny is probably also useable.

Tiny2040 Notes

as of 2022DApr19

SKU: PIM558
By: PiMoroni

Features:
   Size: 22.9mm x 18.2mm x 6mm
     Comm I/F: 2-I2C, 2-Uart or 1-SPI
   4 ADC (12 bit) (Pico + 1)
   2 I2C (using 5 pin pairs)
   1 RGB LED (GPIOs 18,19,20)
   1 USB C Conn.
   1 RESET button
   1 BOOT button (& user sw)
      user sw (pin 35 GPIO 23)
   Debug (SWC & SWD)
   264 Kb of SRAM
   300 mAmp of current
   8MB of QSPI Flash (4xPico)
   2MB of Flash on the RP2040
      
Variants
8 MB of Flash memory(no headers)      priced at US$11.50
8 MB of Flash memory with pin header  priced at US$14.50 (above image names "Tiny2040 with legs")
2 MB of Flash memory(no headers)      priced at US$ 9.00

Price: 7 pounds sterling

Articles:
Magpi:       https://magpi.raspberrypi.com/articles/review-tiny-2040?mc_cid=cc85ef969b&mc_eid=c8f50da1d8
PinOuts:     https://www.etechnophiles.com/tiny-2040-pinout-specs-board-layout-layo/
Schematic:   https://www.etechnophiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Tiny-2040-Schematic.pdf
etech..:     https://www.etechnophiles.com/tiny-2040-pinout-specs-board-layout-layo/
PiMoroni:    https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/tiny-2040?variant=39560012234835

/Tiny2040.txt

Products

The products listed below are sold by PiShop.ca (Source 8) or Mouser Electronics in Canada.

The SN74LVC245N octal level shifter is slightly different but seems to be pin-compatible with the SN74AHC541N mentioned elsewhere in these articles.

SN74LVC245       8-bit Logic Level Shifter    TI        PiShop CAD$ 1.85
sn74lvc245       8-bit Logic Level Shifter    TI        Mouser CAD$ 1.35
SN74AHC541N      8-bit Logic Octal Buffer     TI        Mouser CAD$ 1.05
Tiny2040         Tiny Pico204                 PiMoroni  PiShop CAD$11.95
PiBow Zero 2 W   RPi Zero 2 W case            PiMoroni  PiShop CAD$ 8.95

Pico W by Raspberry Pi

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Pico W (Top View)


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Pico Pins By Gadgetoid


On June 30, 2022, the Pico W (shown above left) was announced by the Raspberry Organisation. Above right are the pinouts of the Pico. The Pico W adds WiFi capability to the Raspberry Pi. Costing just $6, only 2 GHz links are supported (not 5 GHz links) , but latent Bluetooth functionality is probably a future promise. The Pico W is available in Canada from Source 13 (the PiShop.ca) for CAD$7.95. Source 10 describes the Pico W in more detail. This wireless capability is added in the form of a tiny CYW43439 chip by Infineon. MicroPython users can download an updated UF2 image with networking support for Pico W. [A developer comments] I love how this has come together: connecting a USB cable, opening a serial terminal, typing:

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Pico W Code


at the REPL, and seeing a list of available access points, has a wonderfully immediate feel. The UF2 flash code for the Pico W is available as Source 11 below. The network stack is built around lwIP, and uses libcyw43 from Damien George of MicroPython fame at George Robotics.

One small issue is: the built-in LED has apparently been moved from GPIO25. Someone wrote "Unlike the original Raspberry Pi Pico, the on-board LED on Pico W is not connected to a pin on RP2040, but instead to a GPIO pin on the wireless chip. MicroPython has been modified accordingly. This means that you can now do:"

>>> import machine
>>> led = machine.Pin("LED", machine.Pin.OUT)
>>> led.off()
>>> led.on() 

In the new Pico W forum (Source 12), scruss
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scruss


today (2022 F Jun 30), on release day, wrote:

A few RP2040 GPIO pins are used for internal board functions:

GPIO29: OP/IP wireless SPI CLK/ADC mode (ADC3) to measure VSYS/3
GPIO25: OP wireless SPI CS - when high also enables GPIO29 ADC pin to read VSYS
GPIO24: OP/IP wireless SPI data/IRQ
GPIO23: OP wireless power on signal
WL_GPIO2: IP VBUS sense - high if VBUS is present, else low
WL_GPIO1: OP controls the on-board SMPS power save pin (Section 3.4)
WL_GPIO0: OP connected to user LED
Source 16 describes recent MicroPython changes at GitHub for the Pimoroni Pico (W). This source provides the most recent new UF2 releases of MicroPython for the Pico W.

Sources 17 and 18 by the Raspberry Foundation proved detailled documentation about the Pico W and how to use its Wireless Networking software.

Pico W Board with dual male headers

The Waveshare 19343 (CAD$10.95 from PiShop), shown below, breaks out two sets of male headers for the Pico or Pico W microcomputers.

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19343 Pico breakout board with dual male headers


This board with the USB cable and on/off switch (CAD$3.45) can connect the Pico (or Pico W) to a Raspberry Pi Zero W (or to a Pi 400). Note the tiny reset switch near the bottom middle of the board. This ensemble coupled with MicroPython software from PiMoroni make a great development platform.

Using minicom to access the Pico W serial connector

After connecting the Pico W to a Raspberry Pi USB port, simply type the following into the Raspberry Pi Terminal window:
>>> sudo apt install minicom
>>> minicom -o -D /dev/ttyacm0
An easy tutorial on how to use the Pico W can be found in the issue of the MagPi magazine at Source 15.

qwiic i2c connections

Source 14 is a sparkfun qwiic tutorial with a list of many qwiic compatible boards by sparkfun. Qwiic is an upcoming standard connector for I2C boards driven by Raspberry Pi computers.

Sources

Video Sources

Video Source V175:01: First Look at the Tiny2040 (3:14 min) by Learn Embedded Systems c2021DApr


Web Sources

Web Source S175:01: Tiny2040 Schematic
Web Source S175:02: Tiny2040 pins
Web Source S175:03: Tiny2040 Product Description by Pimoroni
Web Source S175:04: Tiny2040 Description Article by MagPi 2022 D Apr 19
Web Source S175:05: Tiny2040 Description Article by eTechnophiles 2022 D Apr 19
Web Source S175:06: RP2040-Zero Description by Waveshare Electronics on 2021 K Nov 05.
Web Source S175:07: Pi: Pi Pico via a Pi uart (156.html) by D@CC on 2021 B Feb 22
Web Source S175:08: PiMoroni products in Canada PiShop (HiPi Industries) as of 2022DApr27
Web Source S175:09: sn74lvc245 Data Sheet TI
Web Source S175:10: RPi Pico W by Raspberry Pi as of 2022FJun30
Web Source S175:11: new UF2 flash code for the Pico W by RPi on 2022 F Jun 30
Web Source S175:12: Forum re the Pico W RPi Forum on 2022 F Jun 30
Web Source S175:13: The Pi Shop in Canada pishop.ca on 2022 F Jun 30
Web Source S175:14: qwiic phat tutorials by Sparkfun prior to 2022 F Jun 30
Web Source S175:15: MagPi magazine 119 pp34-41 (PDF) by Lucy Hattersley at MagPi Magazine c2022 F Jun 30
Web Source S175:16: Pimoroni v1.19.1 by Gagetoid 2022 G Jul 04
Web Source S175:17: Pico W Wireless using MicroPython by RPi 2022 G Jul 03
Web Source S175:18: Getting Started with Raspberry Pico W by RPi 2022 F Jun 17

WebMaster: Ye Old King Cole

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Date Written: 2022 D Apr 19
Last Updated: 2022 G Jul 09
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